PALMER – The Pathfinder Education Association has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School and its superintendent, Gerald L. Paist, accusing him of demonstrating a pattern of discrimination and interference against the association’s officers and other faculty members.

In response, the district’s lawyer, Michael C. Loughran of Norwood, called the charge against Paist “completely baseless.”

“Superintendent Paist has been making personnel decisions for 35 years at Pathfinder, and he has never before been accused of discriminating against the union. Pathfinder has acted lawfully and will cooperate with the investigation to be undertaken by the Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations,” Loughran wrote in an e-mail.

A press release about the issue was disseminated by the Pathfinder Education Association on Wednesday and lists six allegations.

Association President Margaret R. Ferry said in a phone interview that the association wanted to publicize the complaint against Paist, done with the support of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, so the public would know about the teachers’ working conditions.

The release states that the former education association president’s teaching position was eliminated and that he was reassigned to another teaching position, another social studies teaching position was eliminated despite increasing enrollment, courses and students for the association’s negotiations committee chairman were increased, and the behavioral specialist position was eliminated. The specialist had a pending arbitration case regarding salary schedule placement.

Also, after that position was eliminated, another position was posted with similar duties, but as a nonunion job.

It also states that a special education teacher now teaches in several classes after she filed a grievance and sent concerns to the state Department of Education regarding MCAS testing accommodation for special education students. It also states that a former education association president was not hired for a summer school position as required under the association contract.

The press release said the actions occurred after Paist asked the union to forgo negotiated raises, which the membership declined to do. The union, which is in the last year of a three-year contract, received 4 percent raises this year, but paid more for health insurance, 15 percent of the cost, compared to 10 and 12.5 percent previously.

Layoffs were threatened during the budget process, and in the end, only one position was laid off, the first time ever a teacher was laid off in Pathfinder’s history. A $12.26 million budget was approved for fiscal 2010 – no change from the prior year.

“The contract provides the superintendent with discretion, but when every discretionary move by the superintendent discriminates against a union leader or activist, we cannot stand by and let our members be hurt and our legal rights violated,” Ferry said in a statement. “ . . . We want to create a workplace that allows us to do all we can to provide our students with a great education.”